On a sunny day at Meadowbank, 1st hosted 4th in a key encounter between Dorking and Ebbsfleet, which saw us come away with a valuable 3-1 victory.
The tie looked set to guarantee entertainment, with both sides registering an average of at least 2.5 goals per match this season.
After a slow start due to injury stoppages, both sides grew into the match, with a number of corners at either end.
One of those corners nearly proved advantageous for us, as Louie Annesley had two efforts at goal, with his second effort hitting the post from a tight angle.
Corners continued to be a prevalent theme in the match. Although many proved unsuccessful for us, a corner in the 22nd minute almost provided the breakthrough as Louie Annesley had an effort cleared off the line, before heading another effort goalwards minutes later.
The away side offered little half an hour into the match, with Harrison Foulkes remaining untested.
In response, we continued to apply pressure. Dennon Lewis saw a shot blocked before Frank Vincent volleyed over the bar.
For all our pressure, we found ourselves behind just before half-time, following the away side’s first shot on target. After good build-up play, Liam Vincent saw his side-footed effort blocked from close range, before Ben Chapman struck a wonderful long-range effort into the top corner to give the away side the lead.
The away side had scored 56 goals this season before this match, with Dominic Samuel being their most prolific marksman. At the start of the second half, Samuel was left rueing a missed opportunity to add to that tally after he side-footed the ball wide from close range in the penalty box.
When facing Ebbsfleet, we have had the better of the ties, winning four of the previous seven encounters, and we found our way back into the tie in bizarre fashion early in the second half.
Charlie Seaman attempted to play the ball back to his goalkeeper; however, his pass was underhit and Dennon Lewis was able to take advantage and tap the ball into an empty goal.
Riding a wave of confidence, Charlie Carter had a close-range effort blocked, Liam Vincent struck over the bar on the half-volley, and Dennon Lewis struck over from a similar position after Harry Pinchard intercepted the ball high up the pitch.
Ten minutes after the equalising goal, and with confidence high, we took the lead through Brennan Camp. After Niall McManus struck the bar with a half-volley, Brennan Camp followed in to turn home and give us a valuable lead.
Ebbsfleet remained a threat in the match, with our lead a slender one. Mustapha Olagunju headed towards goal from a corner, forcing a magnificent reaction save from Harrison Foulkes after a spell of Ebbsfleet pressure, before Charlie Carter turned over the bar.
However, late in the affair, we had the decisive blow as new striker Sam Pearson entered the pitch with four minutes to play, scoring one minute later with his second touch and becoming the third Dorking player to score on his debut this season.
The next fixture sees us travel to Enfield Town on Tuesday evening, looking to gain another three points.